Cydia

Starting today, Apple’s stores will begin carrying the Philips hue lightbulb, otherwise dubbed as “the world’s smartest LED bulb.” For those of you who don’t know, the hue is an iOS application-controlled lightbulb that will only be available in Apple’s Retail Stores. The lightbulb comes priced at $199 for a starter pack of three lightbulbs of 600 lumen and a hue bridge to connect the bulbs to a home network.

Each bulb offers all shades of white and a variety of color, utilizing 80% less power than traditional lightbulbs while providing the equivalent of a 500 watt bulb. There is an option to buy a huge introduction pack which can expand to up to 50 individual bulbs, with each extra bulb being priced at $59. With an iOS application, hue allows users to remotely control their home’s lighting and personalize settings such as timers. According to Philips, the bulbs are also upgradable and future-proof as more features can be downloaded in the future.

One of the more interesting features the app sports is called “LightRecipes”, which are four pre-programmed lighting settings based on the company’s research regarding the biological effects that lighting has on the body. The scenarios adjust bulbs to the optimum shade and brightness of white light to help users relax, read, concentrate or energize. Other features that the hue sports include the following:

Save your favorite light scenes for each room or time of day and recall them in an instant

Use any photo on your phone as a color palette to paint your room with light and bring your memories back to life

Tune white light from warm candlelight to vibrant, cool white light

Create ambience or complement your decor with the colors of the rainbow

Control and monitor your lights remotely when not at home for security and peace of mind

Set timers to help manage your daily routine

Let light wake you up refreshed or help your loved ones fall asleep

The hue is the second home automation device being pushed by Apple in retail stores, with the first one being the Nest learning thermostat. Similar to the Nest, the hue also connections to iPhones via a free application and aims to reduce users’ power bills.

There are people around the world that are starving, and you spending money on overpriced Apple product(s)? Where will you draw the line?

Who cares if they are spending $50 for a bulb. They made their money not you, don't tell people how to spend their money.
Plenty of people here spend $90+/mo for cellphone bill and $200+ for a subsidized cellphone, this looks ridiculous to many people around the world.

Not trying to start an argument and did state that I didn't want to offend anyone so if people want to spend a ridiculous amount of money that's fine by me. I'm just saying people should be more thoughtful and mindful of other people when spending their money. In short though you've earned your money so spend it however you want

are people really that rich they can just throw money at stupid stuff like this and not worry about the consequences? good lord. 200 dollars for some freaking light bulb.s i spent a dollar a piece on some "go green" bulbs that have lasted me well over a year....oh my they dont turn red or blue when i want them to, my life is ruined!!!!

Not trying to start an argument and did state that I didn't want to offend anyone so if people want to spend a ridiculous amount of money that's fine by me. I'm just saying people should be more thoughtful and mindful of other people when spending their money. In short though you've earned your money so spend it however you want

Kinda interesting with the ability to change lighting colors (if you're 13 years old) but there are much better lighting control solutions than this...perhaps an Insteon system that can be controlled with an app as well. A little more money in the beginning but much more control of your home..albeit without the ability to make your living room glow like a red light district sex parlor. I think once the novelty of this wears off it will go the way of the rest of Philips failed ideas.

HAHAHAHAHA
Do Apple really think people will buy a pack of 3 lightbulbs for $199? LOL
I can get 3 light bulbs from the local shops for $10. I think its $10? I haven't brought any bulbs for ages as they all work and dont need replacing.

Not trying to start an argument and did state that I didn't want to offend anyone so if people want to spend a ridiculous amount of money that's fine by me. I'm just saying people should be more thoughtful and mindful of other people when spending their money. In short though you've earned your money so spend it however you want

"No offense" does not excuse anything dude, it actually is offensive even to you.
If it is not offensive you would not need to add "no offense" to the sentence.
You should just respect the person for his ability to make bank, leave him/her be.
When you try to preach by telling them to think of others before making a purchase you may deem extravagant, people will get annoyed. You should have just left that part out.

"No offense" does not excuse anything dude, it actually is offensive even to you.
If it is not offensive you would not need to add "no offense" to the sentence.
You should just respect the person for his ability to make bank, leave him/her be.
When you try to preach by telling them to think of others before making a purchase you may deem extravagant, people will get annoyed. You should have just left that part out.

Your probably (by which I mean you are right) and not everyone wants to face reality and may get annoyed by me criticising their lifestyle. As I previously said although my comments may have been deemed offensive by some at no point did I mean to cause offence and am of course sincere towards anyone that was offended by anything I may have said. In the future I guess I'll have to be more considerate of others and think through what I am actually saying. At the end of the day though I am only stating my opinion. Nobody has to listen to it if they feel my opinion is wrong but we all (at least if we don't we should have) free will to say whatever we want whenever we want even if some people may get "annoyed" about it or don't want to hear it...

HAHAHAHAHA
Do Apple really think people will buy a pack of 3 lightbulbs for $199? LOL
I can get 3 light bulbs from the local shops for $10. I think its $10? I haven't brought any bulbs for ages as they all work and dont need replacing.

I agree!! Just like it is insane to sell an iPad with 64GB and 4g data for over $900. No one will buy it, they will instead buy an Android tablet for a few hundred...

HAHAHAHAHA
Do Apple really think people will buy a pack of 3 lightbulbs for $199? LOL
I can get 3 light bulbs from the local shops for $10. I think its $10? I haven't brought any bulbs for ages as they all work and dont need replacing.

I think on this Holliday I will spend like 1600 dollars to replace my light bolts hahahahaha naaa crazy people if they buy it

No offence but you do realise how sad you sound don't you? There are people in the world that are homeless and dying of starvation and your spending $50 on lightbulbs. What has the world come to these days...

Sorry but do you realize how sad you sound? If he can afford this luxury to make his life more comfortable in his home than he has that right. It's not his responsibility to save the world.
He could be generous and give away his money to starving people and do without any luxuries, but if he's living a lifestyle that you believe he is wasting his money on useless expenditures, I'm sure the taxes on his large income are supporting many useless people that don't want to work and probably own an iPhone on his share of our ridiculous system. So don't be so quick to judge bud.

There's my right to opinion.

That last post pissed me off so bad that I didn't notice the flamethrower was already cooking this guy before I read that I wasn't alone. What balls!

Sorry but do you realize how sad you sound? If he can afford this luxury to make his life more comfortable in his home than he has that right. It's not his responsibility to save the world.
He could be generous and give away his money to starving people and do without any luxuries, but if he's living a lifestyle that you believe he is wasting his money on useless expenditures, I'm sure the taxes on his large income are supporting many useless people that don't want to work and probably own an iPhone on his share of our ridiculous system. So don't be so quick to judge bud.

There's my right to opinion.

That last post pissed me off so bad that I didn't notice the flamethrower was already cooking this guy before I read that I wasn't alone. What balls!

I was only stating my opinion something I have said multiple times now. If you disagree with me so be it and by all means retaliate as you have. I respect your opinion whether I agree or disagree with it and would hope that you respect my opinion just as I respect yours.

I just got some, and I have to say, they're freaking awesome. Definitely pricey if you just like cool gadgets. But if you're really picky about lighting, they're a must have. I'm exceedingly picky about the mood of my lighting to the point of being OCD. What I was doing before was draping various clothes and such over all the lamps in my room so that I could get their brightness just right, I would use different colored clothes to tweak the colors slightly as well. Balancing and adjusting clothes on top of lamps had become a daily thing. I even have various colored bulbs that I occasionally change out because I like switching it up. These new bulbs are definitely for someone like me.

Probably the best $200 I've spent in a while. I'm kind of a freak when it comes to mood lighting though.

You'd be amazed at how much lighting affects the human psyche. Anyone who has the f.lux app on their Apple device will understand.

As a photography student, I've been studying light and have had an interest in lighting scenes and lighting changes for a while now. I looked into the Instaeon system, and I like the number of options they already offer like plugs, light switches, thermostats, etc., but the amount of stuff they offer is somewhat daunting. The Phillips system seems rather simple, but I wonder if it can be used when you're away from home like the Instaeon setup can? DonkeyKong42: Can you confirm?

Edit: nevermind. I found it. There's a web interface you can log into and control the lights.